


The Box

by doorwaytoparadise



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Fluff, M/M, but not angst surprisingly, post-Zurich
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 20:03:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6208231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doorwaytoparadise/pseuds/doorwaytoparadise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin finds a box tucked into his luggage after he moves to Zurich.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Box

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Creativity Night a while ago, but I like it enough to post it here. The prompt was 'box'.

Martin found the box about a week after he had moved to Zurich. It was tucked in his luggage, somewhere between his old hat and a sweater, plain and unadorned save for the sky blue ribbon around it. It was about as long as his forearm, so he spent a moment puzzling over how he had missed it, before remembering he still didn't know what it was. Turning the package over in his hands, he found nothing that gave the contents away, only his name. So it was for him, then. He felt a sudden thrill of anticipation as he abruptly realized the handwriting belonged to Douglas.

Douglas, who he had left behind in Fitton, but not without the promise of staying in touch. Douglas, his boyfriend, _still_ his boyfriend, but now his long-distance partner. They had had a long talk about this, about moving and SwissAir and them. But in the end, neither wanted to separate, and they had decided to try to stay together despite the distance. Martin stared down at the neat, precise letters, feeling a pang of longing and wishing he could walk to the other room and find Douglas there, like he used to. 

Shaking his head to disperse those thoughts, Martin carefully pulled the ribbon loose, settling himself on his bed as he pried the box open. There was a note on top, and he pulled it out, unfolding the paper and read.

“ _Dear Martin,_

_Hope all is well with your new job and accommodations. I'm sure you'll be fine, so don't worry too much. As I'm writing this, you're still here, asleep in our bed, but I know already I'll miss you. I hope you'll miss me as well, and in the event that you do, perhaps you could use this gift from me. Best of luck and I hope to speak to you soon._

_Love,  
Douglas_”

Martin swallowed hard, the sudden impact of having moved all the way to Switzerland hitting him like a brick to the face. He knew it was going to be bad being so far from home, but damn, it really hurt right now. Just as he felt like he might cry, Martin glanced down at the open box still in his lap. His breath promptly caught in his throat. Carefully, he lifted Douglas' gift from it's cardboard confines, holding it at eye-level and simply staring.

It was a teddy bear. A soft, fluffy, pure white teddy bear. And it was dressed in a pilot's uniform, hat and all, gold stripes proudly adorning it's little jacket sleeves. Martin felt a sudden wave of emotion, affection and amusement and ' _of course he would_ ' running through him all at once. He choked on laughter as he suddenly caught sight of what had to be a small crocheted lemon in it's pocket. With a watery smile, he leaned forward and pressed his face into the fur, breathing in the scent that smelled remarkably like Douglas. Tea and books and jet fuel. Martin hugged the bear close and thanked god he had someone like Douglas in his life.

=

Two weeks later, Douglas held a package in his hands, postmarked from Switzerland. The note inside was in Martin's handwriting.

“ _Dear Douglas,_

_You're ridiculous, you know that? Of course I miss you, and since you said you miss me, I hope this might help you. I'll call you soon._

_Love,  
Martin_”

Douglas plucked the item from the box and stared. He held the red-orange teddy bear in his hands, dressed in a captain's uniform, complete with extra gold braid on it's hat, and couldn't help the grin from spreading across his face. He knew he probably looked like a love drunk idiot, but he didn't care, and there was no one around to see anyway. Douglas felt a wave of what might have been relief or delight or satisfaction, or maybe just warmth and love, since surely this showed the long-distance thing would work out just fine.


End file.
